Roshchyna was broken occipital bone while in Russian captivity, - National Police
While holding Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna at Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog, Russian occupiers inflicted serious injuries on her, including a fractured occipital bone.
This was reported during a meeting of the Temporary Investigation Commission on crimes committed by the Russian Federation against the media by Dmytro Shevchuk, deputy head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, according to Censor.NET, citing the Institute of Mass Information.
Roshchyna suffered systematic abuse
"We discovered this during the relevant forensic medical examinations," Shevchuk noted.
According to him, Viktoria suffered systematic abuse at the hands of the occupiers because she demanded decent living conditions—including proper food—and refused to sing the Russian national anthem.
Conditions of detention
She was held in Cell No. 124, where conditions were unsanitary. There was no hot water, and she was allowed only three minutes to eat, during which time she also had to wash her dishes. From morning until lights out, she was forbidden to sit or lie down.
"Violations of these rules resulted in beatings and other forms of abuse," Shevchuk emphasized.
He also noted that during the journalist’s transfer to the pretrial detention center in Kizel (Russia), she was in critical condition and required constant medical attention.
"Despite this, the facility’s administration continued to subject her to physical and psychological abuse, as well as to conditions that were life-threatening," Shevchuk added.
During the pre-trial investigation, Ukrainian law enforcement officials established that the head of the detention center was aware that a journalist was being held on the facility’s premises in very serious condition. According to Shevchuk, the head of the detention center continued to create conditions that worsened her situation.
According to the investigation, on September 19, 2024, one week after her arrival at the detention center, Viktoria Roshchina died. The cause of death was the continuous abuse she suffered while in captivity.
Death of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna in Russian captivity
- On 10 October, the father of Viktoriia Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist and winner of the 2022 Courage in Journalism Award, who was held in Russian captivity, was informed of her death during a transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. The information was later confirmed by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
- Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared on 3 August 2023 in the occupied territory from where she was reporting.
- In May 2024, the Russian Federation admitted for the first time that it was holding Viktoria Roshchyna in captivity.
- Russia did not return the journalist's body to Ukraine for a long time.
- The body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was returned to Ukraine at the end of February, but it was first publicly announced on 24 April.
